The concrete ground of the abandoned pier was cracked and mottled everywhere, with all sorts of miscellaneous junk scattered about.
Following Wang Qingzhao and Gu Lan, Jiang Ran walked for over ten minutes until they reached a factory building in a corner of the pier.
Two tall, burly bodyguards in black suits and sunglasses stood guard at the factory door. Seeing Gu Lan wave at them, they opened the door in advance.
Entering the factory, Jiang Ran saw the interior was completely empty; machinery and other equipnt had long been cleared out.
The three walked to the far end of the factory building.
They finally saw people. Not many, just seven or eight.
The most conspicuous sight was a young man, securely bound by a rope connected to the highest point of the factory building, hanging suspended above the ground.
The rest consisted of two n whose attire and deanor suggested they were not ordinary folks, along with black-suited, sunglasses-wearing bodyguards identical to those outside.
The two n who didn't look like ordinary people turned their heads towards Jiang Ran's group upon hearing footsteps.
Seeing Gu Lan, they showed little reaction.
But when they saw Wang Qingzhao, their brows noticeably furrowed.
Then, seeing the mummy-like Jiang Ran beside Wang Qingzhao, they stopped frowning. Instead, their pupils dilated as if shaken by an earthquake.
"Baobao, is this the little bastard who secretly fild us?"
These two were none other than Lin Feng and Wang Baobao.
Wang Baobao hadn't even registered Gu Lan's question; he was utterly stunned. How could Jiang Ran be here?
Lin Feng shared the sa thought. Seeing Wang Qingzhao, his first reaction was, 'What a mature, elegant woman, beautiful.' Second, 'Her face looks so familiar.' Then, 'Seems like I've seen her sowhere before.'
But upon seeing Jiang Ran, who was wrapped up like a mummy to the point his features were barely discernible, he was instantly struck dumb. He suddenly rembered the woman's identity.
"Hey! Baobao! What are you spacing out for?!"
Gu Lan walked up and waved her hand in front of Wang Baobao's face.
Only then did Wang Baobao snap back to reality, nodding blankly. Then, his gaze settled on Jiang Ran and the other. "Ran, who are these two?"
"They're my good friends. Don't worry, they won't leak anything about today's events," Gu Lan said to Wang Baobao with a sweet smile.
Her deanor at this mont perfectly matched her on-screen image: pure, lovely, gentle, and kind.
It seed Gu Lan acted the sa way in front of her sponsor, likely catering to his preferences. After all, the person who sought her out probably liked her screen persona.
"Mmm... Okay, no problem."
If Gu Lan had brought anyone else today, Wang Baobao would definitely be displeased. Could you just casually bring random friends to sothing like this?
But... with Jiang Ran standing here, it was completely fine...
Of course, he also didn't dare to have a problem with it.
Lin Feng felt the sa, simply turning his head, hoping Jiang Ran wouldn't recognize him.
Jiang Ran's attention was entirely on the hanging man, so he naturally paid no mind to the others. He asked, "Who is this guy? He fild the video and then released it?"
Wang Baobao glared irritably at the suspended man, who looked about twenty-five or twenty-six, and said, "This punk has a tough mouth. Since we caught him, he hasn't said anything. He only said he'd talk after Gu Lan arrives."
"Waiting for ? So he really was targeting when he fild the video."
A cold light flashed in Gu Lan's beautiful eyes as she stared at the hanging man. She asked directly, "You little bastard, speak up. Why did you want to harm ? What deep-seated grudge do you have against ?"
Gu Lan genuinely didn't know what was going on with this person. If there was so feud, she really couldn't rember.
"Why did I want to harm you? Ran, the fact that I resorted to secretly filming you... it's all your own fault!"
The man spoke through gritted teeth, his eyes inexplicably turning bloodshot.
Gu Lan was baffled. "My own fault? You secretly fild , and you think you're in the right?"
The man retorted, "Gu Lan, do you know who I am?"
Gu Lan: "No."
The man: "I'm your fan."
Gu Lan raised an eyebrow. "An anti-fan, right?"
The man shook his head. "I'm your die-hard fan. Your super die-hard fan. If you were ever in danger, I'm the kind of fan who would risk my life to protect you!!!"
*Slap!*
Before the man could finish, Gu Lan slapped him hard across the face. Although Gu Lan was a woman, she exercised regularly to maintain her figure. This slap left a clear imprint of five fingers on one side of the man's face.
Gu Lan said with hatred, "Die-hard fan? A die-hard fan who wants dead, you an?! My career, everything I had, you destroyed it all! And you have the nerve to spout nonsense here?!"
"I'm not spouting nonsense!"
The man's eyes were bloodshot, tears streaming down his face. "I really am your fan! Your die-hard fan!"
"I'm 25 this year. I've been a fan of yours since I was 19."
"Every advertisent, TV drama, movie you've been in, I've watched them all!"
"Everything you've endorsed, I've bought! Your fan rchandise, even your concerts, I've been to them!"
"Do you rember that ti you were competing with another female celebrity, when the fans were at each other's throats? There was a netizen with the userna 'Black Earl' back then. That was !!!"
Hearing this, Gu Lan was stunned.
The entertainnt industry had many celebrities with similar personas, looks, and promotional angles. This inevitably led to competition, even if neither side wanted it. Because they were too similar, and the pie was only so big; if you took more, there was less for . To fight for resources, they would tear into each other.
Back then, she had engaged in all sorts of battles with another female star who was also marketed as a so-called 'pure jade maiden.'
At that ti, there was a netizen called Black Earl. She rembered him clearly. He helped with data, boosting trics, even helped hire trolls to attack the other side, all sorts of operations. A bona fide true fan.
Especially since such a dedicated fan vanished without a trace after that online war ended, which made her rember him even more deeply.
She had even personally sent him a ssage back then, wanting to get to know him privately. After all, many celebrities had private contact with their big fans.
But Black Earl had refused. He even said at the ti: 'I just want to silently protect you.'
That had genuinely moved her deeply back then.
"Black Earl is you? How can I possibly believe that?"
Gu Lan simply didn't believe it. How could the Black Earl who spoke of 'silently protecting you' be the man who directly ruined her life? That kind of person, who 'retires his cloak after the deed, his na and rits hidden deep'—how could he be soone like the man before her?
"Uh... Gu Lan, it seems he really might be Black Earl."
When this man was caught, his phone fell into Wang Baobao's hands. Wang Baobao used the man's fingerprint to unlock it and opened his phone. He indeed found evidence suggesting he really was that Black Earl...
Gu Lan snatched the Rice phone. Opening it, she found her photo was the lock screen wallpaper. The ho screen wallpaper was also her photo.
She opened Weibo. The Weibo userna: Black Earl.
She opened the chat history and saw, unmistakably, her chat logs with him.
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